


so we're takin' the long way home

by TinySakura



Series: Sakura's Chance at Redemption [4]
Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Children, Am I hurting too?, Anger Management, BAMF Haruno Sakura, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Boys In Love, Brotherly Love, But obviously I can't write that, Childhood Trauma, Class 1-A Shenanigans (My Hero Academia), Class 1-A as Family (My Hero Academia), Declarations Of Love, Drunken Confessions, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everything Hurts, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Issues, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Harm to Children, Haruno Sakura is So Done, Haruno Sakura is a Good Friend, Haruno Sakura is hurting, Haruno Sakura-centric, Hero Worship, Hopeful Ending, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Loss of Control, Loss of Innocence, Loss of Trust, Love, Mental Health Issues, Midoriya Izuku is Bad at Feelings, Midoriya Izuku is a Good Friend, Midoriya Izuku is a Nerd, Midoriya Izuku is hurting too, Mild Blood, Multi, Other, POV Haruno Sakura, POV Midoriya Izuku, Pain, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Haruno Sakura, Protective Midoriya Izuku, Self-Esteem Issues, Strong Haruno Sakura, Team as Family, Therapy, Time Travel, Trust Issues, Working Out My Feelings Through Fic, everyone is hurting, feelings are hard, i just want everyone to be happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 14:39:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21662377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinySakura/pseuds/TinySakura
Summary: The first day she met him she called him String Bean (a compliment) and scared off his bullies. Sometimes he reminds her of Naruto, maybe that’s why she protects him. Or maybe it’s because he’s got a heart of gold and she wanted to die. But he’s the only one who’s ever genuinely cared who wasn’t A) related to her or B) paid to care. So she’ll make sure his dream comes true and she’ll stand behind him to catch him if he falls. After all, what are best friends for?Or;The first day she met him she called him a string bean and punched one of his bullies in the face. He feels on edge with her wild mood swings but he knows that as long as she’s there he’ll always be safe. Maybe it’s because he can see she’s hurting and she knows that he’s hurting too. Yet, she’s still willing to help him reach his dream of becoming a Number 1 Hero. She believes in his dream more than anyone else he knows besides his mom. Yeah, she may always be angry, but she’s as fierce and loyal as they come. And that’s why he won’t ever let her fall into her own pit of despair. After all, what are best friends for?A little dark and depressing AU. Everyone’s hurting but they’ll hold each other up as their lives depend on it.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Haruno Sakura, Hadou Nejire & Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura & Midoriya Izuku, Haruno Sakura & Mirio Togata, Haruno Sakura & Sasori, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura/Kirishima Eijirou, Haruno Sakura/Sasori, Jirou Kyouka/Yaoyorozu Momo, Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako, Overhaul & Haruno Sakura, Todoroki Shouto/Yaoyorozu Momo
Series: Sakura's Chance at Redemption [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1425772
Comments: 8
Kudos: 170





	1. Because he was a deku.

They called him “deku.” Useless, quirkless, not a special thing about him. So when the three of his middle school’s biggest bullies cornered him in an empty hallway he thought that this was going to be one sad way to go out. Dying at the hands of three bullies? True- their quirks were pretty powerful and true- it was three against one, but it still seemed a little cowardly. He wouldn’t get to live out his dream of becoming Japan’s Number One Hero; his dream of fighting alongside All Might and defeating numerous villains. It was a solid dream, right?

“You think you’re better than everyone, don’t ya?” taunted Satoshi, a boy with an elongated neck quirk. He could probably choke him with that.

“O’ course he does. He’s always muttering and trying to get the apprehend on everyone in that book o’ his,” agreed Mitsuru, an older boy who failed to graduate last year with an electric quirk. Maybe he’ll get electrified.

“Then ya know what we gotta do then,” added Hatsu, a boy in the grade below them with a water quirk. Drowning then?

Izuku’s eyes closed and he held his arms in an “x” crossing form to protect his face from any blunt attack. When he heard a bump and a yelp from Satoshi he carefully peeked out from behind his arms. 

A girl held her fist out as she had just punched Satoshi who was laying on the ground holding his bleeding nose tightly. “Anyone else wanna pick on the String Bean?” Her voice was as cold as ice and her eyebrows were furrowed in disgust. 

The other two bullies turned to face her with shouts in the back of their throats when she used her fire quirk to burn off Misturu’s eyebrows and seared off a line down the middle of Hatsu’s hair. Her smirk turned devilish, “walk away and you can keep the rest of your hair and I’ll spare you from third-degree burns.”

“Shit,” cursed Hatsu. “She’s the crazy one!”

Misturu picked up Satoshi and rushed the opposite way followed by Hatsu picking up his pace behind the limping duo. “She’s the psycho one!” Mister's loud whisper didn’t escape the ears of either Izuku or his savior.

The pink-haired girl’s lip twitched downward, nearly snarling at their retreating bodies. Blood red eyes found his own black ones and her smirk returned, “You good, String Bean?”

Midoriya Izuku couldn’t find his voice and simply nodded in response. He remembered who she was now: Bakugou Sakura. The pink-haired, red-eyed, loner in his school. He remembered seeing her on the first day she was introduced to his class, halfway through the first semester of last year. He remembered the whispers his classmates spoke with her standing before them as if they were being quiet enough to not be heard.

_ “I heard her parents forced her into a hospital for crazy people after she tried to kill someone,” someone in the front whispered. _

_ “No way! I heard she actually killed them and had to go to jail!” Another classmate countered. _

_ “I think her parents just didn’t want her and they sent her away, that’s what my brother told me,” a classmate on the opposite side of the room gossiped. _

_ He knew that she heard all of it, even his sensei probably did. Why sensei didn’t put a stop to their horrible gossip astounded him. Maybe his teacher didn’t like her either? She had a massive, angry frown the whole day afterward. _

But at least everyone respected her for her quirk’s power. He was a loner because he was powerless, useless, a “deku.” So why did she stand up for him just now? When the rest of his school looked down on him, why did she fight for him like he was worthy of protection like he was worth fighting for? 

She stuck her hand out to shake his and before he grasped hers back he saw the most genuine smile he’s ever seen on her face. True- her smile was still a little feral, but it was honest.

Maybe this could be something he could look forward to.


	2. bite your tongue and breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura remembers everything and nothing.

They were fighting again. Her mother's shrill screams, banging pots and pans, slamming doors and windows, plates and vases being thrown and shattered— oh dear god, just _please_ _let it stop._

Her father was silent through all of it. He always was. He was just a mellow and chill dude who never wanted to fight. A guy who frustrated her mother to no extent by never compromising his views on what was right or wrong. Someone Sakura desperately needed in her life who couldn't- _wouldn't_ leave her behind again. He stayed for her and Sakura knew she stayed for him too. She loved him, Bakugou Masuru, the father she always needed in her life. She even took his last name compared to her birth name.

The rosette turned up the volume to her headphones which were blaring contemporary a Capella singers. She needed to get out of this damn house before her anger got the best of her. She couldn't risk her mother sending her back _there_. She refused to return to that wretched place.

Masuru was home for good now, why would Sakura want to jeopardize her time with him? He was finally done traveling for work and never had to do so again. He was a good man, he loved her and tolerated her mother to make sure he could be there for her. Sakura would never let Mistuki get in the way of that.

Sakura finally tore her headphones off her head as nothing could block out the sounds that flooded her house and threw them onto her desk. She hummed softly and tried to quickly cool down her mood— she didn't want anything to explode.

Her quirk was different than _his._ Hers was still pretty explosive but as long as she kept a cool head nothing would go wrong. She could use telekinesis on anything that had her blood on it as long as she was making some sort of noise and was within a 2-kilometer range. The problem was that when she would become overly angry and frustrated anything with her blood on it within a 1-kilometer range would explode into tiny pieces and catch fire.

So she took a break from her homework to work on some more art projects. She took a page out of Sai's book and incorporated paintings in blood mixed-black ink on a waxy paper that would move and come to life. She also took a page out of Akatsuki Deidara's book and mixed some blood into modeling clay and created various small animals: mice, bugs, and birds her favorite to create with clay. She also took a few pages out of Konan's book and brushed colored paint onto sheets of paper that she folded into origami which could split apart and come together at her will.

And, of course... she had _his_ quirk too. Maybe she was grateful on the tiniest level about what had happened to her and her twin when they were young. It was the only thing she had left of him... Kacchan was the best thing about her childhood. And then... and then they... he...

No. She wouldn't linger on that thought any longer. As long as she believed that he was still out there then she could continue to be fine. Well, fine as usual, that is.

And three days ago she saved a String Bean from his bullies. She saved some scrawny-ass kid who she'd never once talked to before. But weren't they the same on some strange level?

They were both loners, avoided by classmates unless it came in the form of asking about homework, teasing, or sarcastic comments. Of course, she threatened their sanity and hair constantly, but she would never actually hurt them. And String Bean... he couldn't (maybe wouldn't?) hurt a fly.

So maybe they weren't the same... but maybe it was because he reminded her of her life back in Konoha, before the war, before the invasion, before Naruto and Sasuke constantly tried to kill each other, before everything became so damned complicated. Maybe it was he reminded her of the people who lived there, loved there, survived every day there.

Maybe it was because he reminded her of Hinata- always staying quiet, standing in the background, just dying to disappear and yet still wanting to prove himself. Maybe it was because he reminded her of Ino when he had an idea when Ino had juicy gossip her eyes would sparkle just like Izuku's when he was dreaming of becoming a hero. Maybe it was because he reminded her of herself before she lost her twin, smiles, and happiness covering for lack of self-esteem, always thinking of the bigger picture, always trying his damn best when the odds were stacked against him. Maybe it was because he reminded her of Naruto almost more than the other blue-eyed bubbly blond she had met a few years prior.

Or maybe, just maybe, it was because her thoughts were screaming " _killkillkillkillkill_ " and she refused to become like _the Uchiha_. Refused to let anything hurt her new String Bean friend.

So she did what she couldn't do for him. What she couldn't do but wished she could've for her Kaachan. She saved him. She wouldn't ever let anything happen to him or anyone else she cared about ever again.

She owed it to Kacchan to do better- to be better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy cow! I checked out the story you all said mine was similar to and WOW, the first chapters were super similar! but already I noticed some jumbo differences in mine based on the chapter content and based on the tags. So hopefully this chapter shows some of the differences!


	3. Almost dead will never be good enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deku's dad is back. Sakura contemplates life.

It was stupid, she supposed. One day she had asked why his classmates called him “Deku.” Sure the boy didn’t have a quirk, but he wasn’t useless. He was just observant. And being highly observant got you five steps ahead of the next person. Observant meant life or death in her world and she was sure he’d be a damn good survivor in the Five Elemental Nations.

Maybe it hit a sore spot for him, maybe it made me shrink away from her. That’s what he was doing, right? She hadn’t seen him in a week since she asked him that stupid fucking question. Was she supposed to feel good about being shoved back into her place as a loner? Was she supposed to be right about having no one to talk to again?

Bakugou Sakura found her feet leading her to the bridge that leads over the railroad tracks from high up. She hated being this way, so overly cynical, so pessimistic, so angry at every damn thing that she felt like she was suffocating. She hadn’t noticed it until that moment her feet were dangling, that she had sat on top of the bridge and over the high railing that allowed even the tallest cargo trucks to pass by. 

She knew she didn’t deserve this second chance, she knew that she wasn’t good like Naruto, that she wasn’t someone who fought when they had nothing left to lose like Kakashi, that she wasn’t chasing some dream that she had always wanted (even though it pained her to think about it) like Sasuke. She wasn’t fighting for freedom like Sai.

She was just so damn tired. She pulled out her phone and stared at the touch screen. She knew she had to ask for help. This is why she wanted to build the children’s hospital, this is why she wanted to build a stable mental rehabilitation facility, but why couldn’t she just unlock the damn thing and hit the speed dial?

She had pushed away that damn String Bean, just like she pushed away that stupid Naruto look-alike who kept her afloat, just like she pushed away that annoyingly bubbly girl, and just like how she even pushed away that depressed and self-conscious boy. She had friends, she had people who could lift her up, she had support systems in place. It only took one damn phone call to get the three of them here before the hour was up.

But she didn’t want them. She didn’t want any of them like she wanted her brother back. She just wanted to see his face one more time. In her dreams he haunted her, he tortured her with memories of promises they made to get out of that damn prison alive. Promises to run away and finally be free from the lack of control they had. They could make their own choices, they wouldn’t have to face any more needles, men with masks, scalpels, test tubes, anything…

No. Now she was wallowing in her own damn self-pity. She wasn’t supposed to be pathetic like this. She was supposed to be able to conquer the world and face her fears. Why was she so damn wishy-washy? 

The rosette’s legs stood up wobbly on the high fence. She didn’t even know if she was using chakra to force herself to stay atop the fence or if she was truly going to let herself fall headfirst towards the pavement. 

‘They won’t miss me,’ is her last thought before she feels a vibration from the device in her palm. She peeks down at the screen and notices it’s from String Bean. 

It reads: **sos. please. i’m sorry.**

The text that follows up is an address not far from where she lives and not far from where she is. If this is a sign then it’s a fucking good one because she sprints towards the place as she follows her GPS, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. She lands in front of a doorstep and notices that it’s open. She completely didn’t notice the ambulance and police cars outside of the apartment complex like she should have before she burst through the door like she just did.

“String Bean?” Her voice is wary. There are paramedics rushing in and out of rooms and policemen taking statements from her friend. She does a quick visual assessment. He’s awake, breathing, shaking, but alive. He’s being questioned and she knows that she should’ve waited for the officer to stop asking questions but dammit he texted her a cryptic message!

Sakura jumps him and holds him tightly, his legs were wobbling, to begin with, but her feet keep them standing. He’s shaking and she sees where his vision is leading. There’s a man being placed on a stretcher with foam coming from his mouth and he has needle marks on his inner elbow. Shit. That’s a clear as day overdose if she ever did see one. 

“Sa-Sakura…” his voice is wary and tired and he’s barely holding himself together from what he appears to be but he’s clutching her like a lifeline and she’s glad she stayed alive long enough to be his support like this.

It takes three hours of her holding his hand to help calm his nerves and when he finally settles down somewhat the officers have already taken their statements and the paramedics have all driven their vehicles away.

“You want to know why they call me ‘Deku’?” His voice is soft and hoarse. He’s cried too much for one day. For one lifetime.

Sakura stays silent but squeezes his hand tightly.

“My dad used to call me Deku in front of all the kids at school,” he turned his eyes towards the ceiling and blinked furiously, trying to keep more tears at bay. “He thought that since I was quirkless than I must be useless as well.”

Sakura bites back her retort. If this man didn’t die from the overdose then she’d kill him the next time she saw him. String Bean didn’t deserve any of this.

Maybe, she thinks that night after she lays down to sleep, she didn’t deserve what she and Katsu went through as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I created Deku's dad here, but damn. He's such a little shit. And why do I keep writing suicidal shit? Must be my own brain thinking. ):


End file.
